The Weather Channel Just Called Out the Idaho Legislature

Zero. That’s how many days Idaho can go without being nationally embarrassed.

The Weather Channel just called out the Idaho Legislature for removing references to climate change in school science standards. Idaho is the only state in the nation to successfully remove the teaching of climate science from school curriculum requirements. States like Kentucky and Oklahoma tried to remove the references but came to their senses in time to realize it was a bad idea.

Idaho’s school science standards were handed an “F” by a non-profit think tank because they hadn’t been updated since 2001. This lack of leadership by the Idaho GOP is putting our children farther and farther behind. They are hurting our rural school districts who may not have the resources to create more rigorous standards.

Idaho: Far from Standard

WRITTEN BY JAMES CRUGNALE

The Idaho Legislature recently voted to remove the requirement to teach climate science to the state’s students. How did the state get here and what happens next?

High school sophomore Ilah Hickman was surprised when the vote happened. She didn’t understand how it was this hard “for people to understand how important it is for children and future generations to know the impact that us humans have on the environment.”

The Boise 16-year-old was reflecting on the moment she realized Idaho legislators had voted to remove references to climate change being caused by human behavior from the state’s science standards.

Hickman’s home state is rich in rivers and springs — and she feels most in her element clomping around streams like Weir Creek in boots and waders in search of water-dwelling creatures. She spent five years working to make the Idaho Giant Salamander the state’s official amphibian. Hickman, as well as many other students and science teachers in the state, was taken aback by the state’s move. She called it “negligent” for lawmakers to single out climate science.

Earlier this year, the Idaho State legislature voted to cut five paragraphs that discussed anthropogenic climate change from revised K-12 educational standards. In early February, Idaho’s House Education Committee members voted to remove several passages that explicitly mentioned the influence that humans have had on rising global temperatures in spite of the fact that the vast majority of climate scientists agree it’s happening. The state Senate’s education committee agreed with their House counterparts in a party-line vote, and the changes were finalized in another House vote in late March. The standards are now undergoing further revision and public comment before being re-submitted to the legislature in 2018.

Idaho’s science education standards have not been updated since 2001, and were strongly criticized by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a nonprofit think tank advocating for excellence in education, which gave the state an “F” while calling their science standards “remarkable in their almost total disregard for the essential content necessary to educate children in the sciences.”

“In Idaho, we have for a long time had a set of science standards to guide certain subjects — earth science, biology— those science standards have been quite minimal and broad and that is on purpose to allow for local districts to have flexibility,” explained Tanya Gordon, a Boise earth science teacher, in an interview with weather.com. “Most school districts will use those standards as their own. This is the minimum of what we have to teach. Smaller or more rural school districts might not have the resources to form a committee to write more rigorous standards.”

Far from Standard

Last summer, Idaho science teachers and government officials worked together to create updated educational science guidelines, built upon the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), a framework designed to help school districts across the country. They were approved by the Idaho State Board of Education in August and then passed on to the Legislature for approval.

“So far 19 states (and DC as well) have adopted the NGSS or something very close to them; so far 12 states have adopted what I privately call NGSS lite — something recognizably similar to NGSS but with fairly substantial changes,” explained Glenn Branch, deputy director of the National Center for Science Education, a nonprofit organization that defends the teaching of climate change in schools, in an interview with weather.com. “Of the NGSS-lite state standards, several have content noticeably weaker on climate change than NGSS: Alabama, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming.”

Each of those states are controlled by a Republican majority in their state legislatures.

The Next Generation Science Standards include language to the effect that humans have altered the planet with the release of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels— which Idaho lawmakers called into question.

Idaho Rep. Scott Syme, R-Caldwell, led the push to remove the passages from the revised science standards which said humans had contributed to changing the climate, saying the wording did not address “both sides of the debate.”

“What happened in the Education Committee was simply excluding five paragraphs from those standards which dealt only with the negative effects of humans on the environment,” Syme told weather.com in an email. “Teachers are not precluded from teaching about climate change but the Committee felt the standards should reflect not only the adverse effects of humans on the environment, but also what humans do to mitigate those effects. The paragraphs that were excluded had standards that only dealt with the negative effects.”

Syme was recently elected to his position and made his living as a real estate broker and owns a small farm. He also is a retired Army veteran who served two tours in Iraq.

“I’m better known as Scott Syme the Science Guy, since I was the one that made the motion on this,” he joked in the House while making the case to remove the standards, according to the Spokesman-Review. “The standards said humans are bad – basically, that’s what it said, humans are bad, didn’t talk about any mitigating factors, any science to describe what we can do to make things better.”

Ryan Kerby, R-New Plymouth, who prior to joining the legislature served for 21 years as a rural school superintendent, also defended the omitted standards.

“I would like the climate change/global warming aspect of the standards be more inquiry based, like the rest of the science standards,” Kerby said in an interview with weather.com. “Let students do research, gather data, have discussions/debate in class and form their own conclusions.”

Kerby said that the representatives removed the climate change standards “to make a point.”

“Our expectation is that they will bring the standards back next year with modifications all sides will be happy with, and this discussion will be over with,” he said.

However, Chad Colby, spokesperson for Achieve, the educational nonprofit that helped put together the Next Generation Science Standards, said any removal or modification of the text would not be in compliance with the science standards.

Several of Idaho’s legislators are on record questioning the science of climate change, including House Resources Committee Chairman Dell Raybould, who told Idaho Falls Post Register reporter Bryan Clark that his source for climate change science was conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.

“Listen to Rush Limbaugh once in awhile,” Raybould said. “See what he thinks about it. He’ll tell you that this is just a bunch of nonsense.”

Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Moscow, told a concerned parent in an email that “global warming ranks right up there with Al Gore’s phony ozone scare.”
“I hope the Legislature enacts legislation to eliminate this ridiculous nonsense from all our textbooks,” he added.
Branch called Idaho’s move to remove climate change from the state science curriculum “unprecedented” and “a lot more blatant than what other states have done.” He thought the changes were “scientifically unwarranted and pedagogically harmful.”

“I can confidently say that in no other state has the legislature taken it upon itself to engage in such a wholesale deletion of content about climate change from a proposed set of state science standards,” Branch said. “If they remain as they are, Idaho will have a good claim to have the least adequate state science standards in the country with regard to climate change.”

The Idaho Legislature’s actions did not come without a fight from dissenting lawmakers.

Representative Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, who had previously requested a hearing on climate change only to be rebuffed by fellow legislators, took matters into her own hands, organizing her own forum on the issue, which wound up becoming the most highly attended public hearing of the year.

“School should be a place where facts are shared, not suppressed,” Rubel told weather.com. “Not only do we owe it to our children to teach them 21st Century science, but we owe it to the farmers, foresters and citizens of Idaho to take this issue seriously and not bury our heads in the sand. Livelihoods are at stake.”

Taking place at the at Idaho Capitol building’s Lincoln Auditorium on March 15, Rubel’s climate change hearing attracted an overflow crowd of hundreds of concerned citizens — including students, teachers and scientists.

John Abatzoglou, a professor at the University of Idaho, presented graphs and figures to support the case for teaching of climate science to Idaho students.

“If things aren’t in the standards, there is little incentive for teachers to go above and beyond to teach students about climate change in the context of the scientific method,” Abatzoglou said in an email interview with weather.com. “Idaho is dead last (as of 2010) in the U.S. in terms of high school graduates going on to some college, meaning that the K-12 curriculum is the last opportunity for a majority of high school graduates to get any formal education in the sciences or other fields. Hence this move, to me, is a disservice to residents of the state and future generations as it makes climate science a more mysterious creature that the populace is reticent to trust.”

Hickman was one of several student speakers at the hearing, and was familiar with the legislature after her surprisingly contentious effort to get the state to name an official amphibian (one legislator voted against the salamander bill because he thought the animals were “creepy.”)

Hickman came to the hearing to speak in support of students being taught climate science.

“There are several reasons why it’s important for students statewide to learn and understand about climate change and the effects that it has on our environment,” Hickman said at the hearing. “As a student myself, I can say that students learn all about Idaho’s environment in our science classes, such as relating Boyle’s law to our high altitudes or how osmosis works in relation to our local farm crops, climate change, whether it is increasing or decreasing or is bad or good for our environment, directly affects our great state of Idaho, which should be included in the high school curriculum.”

THE POLITICS
Following the 2016 election, Idaho’s state government is now made up of 88 Republicans in the House and Senate and 17 Democrats.

Popularly known for their rugged individualism, Idahoans have a complicated relationship with environmental stewardship.

“Westerners have a history of natural resource use, sometimes misuse,” explained John Freemuth, professor of Environmental Policy at Boise State University. “But also leadership on preservation of public lands. In Idaho, that would include Cecil Andrus, Frank Church and lately (Congressman) Mike Simpson. Other western states have had leaders like that as well.”

According to a 2017 public policy survey by Boise State University, 72 percent of Idahoans believed climate change was taking place, though only 48.6 percent of those who believed climate change was happening also believed “humans and natural causes (were) contributing factors.” Idaho Republicans were less likely than Democrats to believe climate change was manmade.

“The most appropriate national average you might compare our figures to would be 83 percent,” Justin Vaughn, co-director of the Boise State Center for Idaho History and Politics, which oversaw the survey, told weather.com.

Hickman lamented that caring about the environment had become a partisan issue.

“We’re so focused on what party it came from instead of the long-term effects it has on Idaho,” Hickman said in a phone interview.

Jen Pierce, who teaches about climate change at Boise State University, also spoke out at the March 15th hearing.

“Ice doesn’t have a political agenda, it just melts,” she told weather.com. “It shouldn’t be a political issue, and unfortunately, it has become one, and people think this is a Republican or Democrat issue, and it’s not.”

Piggybacking on the controversy in the state was the Heartland Institute, which regularly works to discredit the scientific consensus on climate change, which disseminated books to teachers across the country titled, “Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming.” They wanted “every public-school science teacher in the nation (to have) a copy.”

The book makes the false claim that an overwhelming majority of scientists do not agree that global warming is caused by humans. The National Science Teachers Association condemned the book as an “unprecedented attack.”

Pierce said she received the book in the mail and feared that other teachers could be tricked into using it as an academic tool.

THE TEACHERS
Several Idaho science teachers that spoke with weather.com said they felt most teachings on climate change would be driven by personal beliefs — or their perception of their community’s beliefs —without the implementation of strict science requirements.

Erin Stutzman, an environmental science educator in Boise, told weather.com that at times it can be challenging teaching high school courses on politically charged issues like global warming and evolutionary biology in Idaho — even in the state’s more progressive capital city.

“I’ve taught sophomore biology, when you teach climate change or evolution, sometimes there will be a kid that’ll look at you, and tell me that they don’t believe in it. I’ll tell them, ‘I’m not telling you what you need to believe, what I’m teaching you is what scientists say.’ I’ve had situations sporadically where it’s happened. It takes my breath away when it happens, though generally where I teach, it’s pretty well received.”

Stutzman believes that the changes in the science standards allows for educators to skirt the issue, something she feels will happen in more conservative school districts.

“When you have it in the standards it has to be discussed, how they do it is up to the individual,” Stutzman said.

Gordon thought local pressure could affect the way teachers taught science without mandatory guidelines.

“I think there could be repercussions for teachers that teach controversial subjects,” she observed.

Reaction from state science teachers to the news of the changes wasn’t entirely negative.

Carrie Carson, a high school physical science teacher in Burley, Idaho, welcomed the amended science standards, telling the Times-News that she was “actually quite excited” about the changes. “I think they’re good standards,” she said. She also told the newspaper that science teachers “have to careful they’re educating students about multiple ways of thinking and must allow them to make their own decisions.”

THE ECONOMY
Climate change is expected to make significant impacts to Idaho’s farming community and even the state’s most famous crop. In an August 2016 report, the Environmental Protection Agency said that higher temperatures would “decrease potato yields and potato quality in the Northwest.”

“Some farms may be harmed if more hot days reduce crop yields, or if the decline in summer streamflow reduces the water available for irrigation,” the report said.

Kelly Olson, administrator of the Idaho Barley Commission, who helps advise growers about adapting to changing temperatures, said she anticipated state residents would have to deal with rising temperatures whether or not they still taught it in schools.

“I think climate science is very real, we’re seeing more rapid changes on the land,” Olson said. “If (students) don’t learn it in the classroom, they’re going to going to experience it.”

She noted that while many of Idaho’s farmers might be skeptical of climate change, she said they would have to learn how to adapt for the future.

“I’m helping my growers plan ahead,” Olson added.

Despite the projections by climate scientists that the state will face significant challenges from a warming world, the state’s agricultural organizations largely sat out on taking an official stance during the contentious science standards debate.

“Agriculture took no position on the legislation,” said Rick Waitley, executive director of Food Producers of Idaho.

On the other hand, the ski industry has been outspoken about the impacts that climate change will have on their business.

Brad Wilson, general manager of Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area, told weather.com that skiing was a major contributor to the health of the state economy and that it was important for students to learn the science in order to better prepare for a changing world.

“Our industry is the canary in the coalmine,” Wilson explained. “There are few resorts that will be completely unscathed by climate change. We contribute a large amount to tourism and particularly to winter tourism to Idaho. We absolutely are adapting our business plans to the potential of a changing environment. We’re making changes so we can create activity for the summertime so we can create income in case we have these poor winters.”

The state’s timber industry has also been wary of rising temperatures in the state.

“How much climate change will affect our forests and then ultimately the wood products industry will be driven by our societal reaction to how we manage or don’t manage our commercial forests due to climate change,” John Sahlberg, General Counsel and Secretary at Boise Cascade, told weather.com in an email.

THE FIRES

Rocky Barker, environmental journalist for the Idaho Statesman and author of Scorched Earth, told weather.com in a phone interview that he had witnessed forest fires in the state becoming more and more extreme each passing year, and attributed their intensity to rising global temperatures.

Barker’s observations have been confirmed by Abatzoglou, who was the lead author on a 2016 study that found that human-caused climate change played a prominent role in surveyed increases in forest fire activity in the western United States.
“We’re no longer waiting for human-caused climate change to leave its fingerprint on wildfire across the western U.S. It’s already here,” Abatzoglou said in his report.

“Fire is big in Idaho, more area has burned in the state over the past 30 years than any other state in the lower 48,” he said in an email to weather.com. “As climate change plays a significant, though not the only role in these things, it is a shame that climate change is being neglected by most in the state Capitol.”

John Segar, a retired firefighter and former chief of wildland fire management for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who also spoke out against the proposed climate science omissions, testified that the state’s move stank of “censorship,” and told weather.com in a phone interview that it was important to be completely honest with students about how a changing climate was affecting them.

“I was in the front lines fighting forest fires,” Segar said. “I had a pretty good grasp on weather and fire behavior and how the climate played in it in being in the field. I think it’s important for our kids to know what’s going on and understanding the nature of the challenges that’s going on”
“I’m very afraid,” he said, “that we’re not giving kids the information they need in a changing world.”

THE FUTURE
Idaho State Department of Education spokesperson Jeff Church told weather.com in an email there would be much more debate to come before the state’s state science standards were finalized.

“The department was asked to remove this portion of the standards for the temporary rule being adopted but we will be coming back for next year’s session to propose the permanent rule,” Church said.

“The rule we will send forward next year will follow another round of negotiated rulemaking in which we again will be asking for public comment,” he added. “We intend to rewrite those five paragraphs that were temporarily removed from the standards and reintroduce them next year. We anticipate announcing the public comment process in April and encourage everyone with a stake in this issue to participate in that process, either with comments or even potential wording that you might like to see us use. The temporary rule being approved will let us begin moving forward with all the other components of the science standards, which were developed with considerable hard work by educators and other stakeholders and did not need to be delayed due to this one issue.”

Chris Taylor, Boise School District’s science curriculum director, told weather.com that regardless of what changes/omissions were made to the state’s science standards, the city’s schools would still rigorously educate students about what causes global warming.

“In the Boise School District we will continue to teach climate change and investigate human impacts on biodiversity even though they are not mentioned in the standards,” Taylor said. “The legislatures said specifically during our testimony that the state standards are the minimum so if districts want to explore climate change they had the local control to do so.”

“Fire is big in Idaho, more area has burned in the state over the past 30 years than any other state in the lower 48,” he said in an email to weather.com. “As climate change plays a significant, though not the only role in these things, it is a shame that climate change is being neglected by most in the state Capitol.”

John Segar, a retired firefighter and former chief of wildland fire management for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who also spoke out against the proposed climate science omissions, testified that the state’s move stank of “censorship,” and told weather.com in a phone interview that it was important to be completely honest with students about how a changing climate was affecting them.

“I was in the front lines fighting forest fires,” Segar said. “I had a pretty good grasp on weather and fire behavior and how the climate played in it in being in the field. I think it’s important for our kids to know what’s going on and understanding the nature of the challenges that’s going on”
“I’m very afraid,” he said, “that we’re not giving kids the information they need in a changing world.”

THE FUTURE
Idaho State Department of Education spokesperson Jeff Church told weather.com in an email there would be much more debate to come before the state’s state science standards were finalized.

“The department was asked to remove this portion of the standards for the temporary rule being adopted but we will be coming back for next year’s session to propose the permanent rule,” Church said.

“The rule we will send forward next year will follow another round of negotiated rulemaking in which we again will be asking for public comment,” he added. “We intend to rewrite those five paragraphs that were temporarily removed from the standards and reintroduce them next year. We anticipate announcing the public comment process in April and encourage everyone with a stake in this issue to participate in that process, either with comments or even potential wording that you might like to see us use. The temporary rule being approved will let us begin moving forward with all the other components of the science standards, which were developed with considerable hard work by educators and other stakeholders and did not need to be delayed due to this one issue.”

Chris Taylor, Boise School District’s science curriculum director, told weather.com that regardless of what changes/omissions were made to the state’s science standards, the city’s schools would still rigorously educate students about what causes global warming.

“In the Boise School District we will continue to teach climate change and investigate human impacts on biodiversity even though they are not mentioned in the standards,” Taylor said. “The legislatures said specifically during our testimony that the state standards are the minimum so if districts want to explore climate change they had the local control to do so.”